It's the hard knock life

I'm finding it increasingly hard to read the newspaper in Cambodia. It's not that I need a shaggy dog story, but it would be nice to read something other than cover to cover tales of government corruption and the downtrodden masses. A couple of stories really got to me recently, particularly as I encounter tuk tuk drivers on a daily basis.

Tuk tuk drivers are everywhere in Phnom Penh. We're in low season for tourists at the moment which means these guys are struggling for business and you frequently get propositioned by multiple drivers within the space of 100 metres walking down the street. I left our apartment yesterday to find 6 tuk tuks parked up in the street outside - it makes you feel guilty for walking or cycling. Anyway, your average tuk tuk chariot costs around $500 to buy outright, and we've recently discovered that a lot of drivers can't afford it so drive for a company. Back in the golden days of early 2008 a tuk tuk driver was earning $10 a day on average for 5 hires (a pretty good wage by Cambodian standards). However, the global economic crisis has been taking it's toll on the informal sector of the economy here, largely due to job losses in the formal sector, reduced investment, and lower tourist numbers. The net result is that the average daily earnings for a tuk tuk driver in early 2009 were just $4 for 2 hires. That's a 60% reduction and i'm sure makes it hard for a lot of these guys to pay the rent and support their families. I saw a couple of moto drivers coming to blows over a fare outside the supermarket yesterday and it's kind of understandable when your entire income for the day might consist of 2 rides.

But the economic crisis is affecting everyone, right ? For sure, but what really got me riled up was the Daun Penh local government's preparations for the ASEAN-EU meeting last week. We live in Khan Daun Penh, and it's also the home to most of the foreign embassies and some of the government buildings. In preparation for the meeting, the local government decided to do a street sweep to clean up homeless people, street vendors and tuk tuk drivers who were deemed to be 'unsightly' for the visiting dignitaries. I think the idea is misplaced as tuk tuk drivers add a lot of colour and life to the streets, as well as providing an essential service used by locals and tourists alike. In total, 34 tuk tuks were confiscated by the municipal government ahead of the summit. Drivers were allowed to reclaim them after the summit concluded, but as usual many were required to pay a "fee" to recover them. One driver reported he had to pay $55 to get his tuk tuk back, add in the loss of a few days wages and this is a big deal.

Worse still, in order to retrieve their tuk tuks the drivers were forced to sign an agreement which banned them from operating on 3 of Phnom Penh's main streets - Sisowath Quay, Norodom & Sothearos Boulevards. For those in Melbourne this would be like forbidding taxi drivers to use Collins St, Elizabeth St & Lonsdale St and effectively makes it impossible to ply your trade. When asked why the drivers were banned from these streets, Him Yan (Phnom Penh Deputy Municipal Police Chief) said "We do not allow tuk-tuk drivers to drive on some prohibited roads in the Daun Penh district" and offered no explanation for the ban.

Stories of corruption and high handed dealings like this are so frequent here, that it often seems that neither institutions or government have any interest at all in serving the people but rather their own self interest.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009052926167/Business/Informal-sector-suffering.html
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009060926357/National-news/Tuk-tuk-ban-angers-drivers.html